The utilization of toothbrushes to clean one's teeth has long been known. During the brushing process, a user generally applies a force to the brush which is applied against the teeth and gums by the cleaning elements of the toothbrush. A minimum level of force must be applied to remove plaque and debris; however, high levels of force may have negative health consequences for an individual. For example, issues such as gum irritation, or over periods of time, gum recession or tooth enamel abrasion may occur. Unfortunately, the presence of these issues may exacerbate a contributing factor to the issues, i.e. high brushing force. Because some users may feel that these issues stem from poor cleaning, in an effort to correct the issues the users may apply even more force during brushing which in turn may cause more gum irritation and/or gum recession or tooth enamel abrasion.
In order to avoid or mitigate these issues, dental professionals recommend the use of a soft bristled toothbrush. However, even with the use of a soft bristled toothbrush, high brushing forces may still lead to theses issues. Furthermore, it is extremely difficult for an individual, when brushing, to determine the optimal force required for cleaning. One may feel a minimum level of force is needed to enable cleaning, but feeling the level at which the force is too high is difficult. In addition, studies have shown that the cleaning ability of a toothbrush may in fact be reduced if brushing force is increased to too high a level.
Other recommended solutions may be to apply less force while brushing. However, if too little force is applied during brushing, the cleaning efficacy of the toothbrush often is reduced. Furthermore, similar to high brushing forces, the individual may find it difficult to determine when brushing forces are too low.
Accordingly, a need exists for a personal hygiene implement which signals to the user when too high a brushing force is being applied, when too low a brushing force is being applied and/or when a sufficient amount of brushing force is being applied.